Billie Moore, 1943-2022
Former UCLA Women's Basketball coach Billie Moore, who was at the forefront of growing women's basketball nationally and internationally, died Dec. 14; she was 79 years old. Moore died in her Fullerton, California, home surrounded by friends and family after a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma.
In life and on the court, Moore was a woman of immense integrity. She was a champion for women in sports, Director of Basketball Operations Pam Walker '85 called her "a true trailblazer and pioneer of Title IX," on top of her coaching accolades. Walker coached alongside Moore as an assistant starting in 1990 until Moore gave up the Bruin reins.
Moore was at the helm for the Bruins from 1977-1993, leading UCLA to an AIAW national championship in 1978. Moore still holds the record for most wins by a women's basketball head coach in UCLA history (296 wins) after her 16-year stint with the Bruins. In her career, Moore totaled 436 wins to just 196 losses (.690 winning percentage).
Before coming to Westwood, Moore was the head coach for the first-ever Olympic women's basketball team for the U.S. in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, developing players like Pat Summitt, Ann Meyers Drysdale '79 and Nancy Lieberman. She and Summitt grew close after their silver-medal efforts together in Canada. The late-Tennessee Lady Vols head coach was quoted as saying, "Billie Moore has had more influence on my coaching career than anyone. She was my mentor. She's had a huge impact on my coaching style."
The Westmoreland, Kansas, native was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Moore was the first head coach to lead two schools to national championships in women's hoops (Cal State Fullerton – 1970; UCLA – 1978). She was named College Basketball Coach of the Year in 1978 after her title season with the Bruins and earned Conference Coach of the Year for the WCAA in 1985. Moore was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000.
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